The Criminal Court of First Instance in Dar el Beida (Algiers) issued today, Thursday, a ruling in the case that claimed the life of the late Djamel Bensmain, according to which it imposed the death penalty for 49 defendants after convicting them of the crimes of “premeditated murder, torture and incitement to it, setting fire to cultivated fields that led to the death of several people,” according to a statement issued by the Public Prosecution Office at the Algiers Judicial Council.
The same source stated that “pursuant to the provisions of Article 11 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Public Prosecutor at the Algerian Judicial Council informs the public that the Criminal Court of First Instance for the same Council has issued this day, corresponding to 11/24/2022, a preliminary criminal judgment in the case whose victim was the late Djamel Bensmain, ruling the death penalty for 49 defendants after they were convicted of crimes of premeditated murder, torture and incitement to it, and setting fire to cultivated fields that led to the death of several people”.
The crimes committed also included – according to the same source – “establishing, founding and joining a group or organization aimed at committing acts of vandalism and misdemeanours, violently assaulting men of public power and spreading discourse of discrimination and hatred.”
In the same case, the Criminal Court of First Instance of the Algerian Judicial Council ruled “penalties ranging from two to ten years for 28 defendants, while 17 defendants were acquitted of the charges against them,” according to the same statement.
